


SAO MMX: Oculus Bladeworks

by StarryOfThy



Category: Rockman X | Mega Man X, Rockman | Mega Man - All Media Types, Sword Art Online (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Video Game World, Depression, First Meetings, Gamers being gay, Long-Distance Relationship, M/M, Role-Playing Game, Slow To Update, Video Game Mechanics
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-02
Updated: 2020-09-02
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:41:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,066
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26251351
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StarryOfThy/pseuds/StarryOfThy
Summary: The world can be pretty unforgiving. Especially for gamers. But when a world is created for them...How can they resist?(Au idea made with Kosei. This was originally a roleplay, I kind of edited and adapted it into a more literary story.)
Relationships: X/Zero (Rockman)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 10





	SAO MMX: Oculus Bladeworks

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Kosei](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kosei/gifts).



> Hooooo boy, this was a fun roleplay.
> 
> It was most definitely longer, I assure you. However, the platform we were roleplaying on had some issues and deleted the majority of it into oblivion. We did manage to save the first chapter, though. If this takes off well, I might try to write more.
> 
> (Edit: I did edit this chapter, so it's a little easier to understand what's going on. That means yes, I am continuing this.)

12:58.

Today was the day.

He stood up, turning his computer off. He walked over to the bedroom door, turning the lock. He didn't want his dad or brother barging in while he was playing. He'd surprised his dad even let him have this in his room.

12:59.

He put the NervGear headset on. The black visor covered his cobalt blue eyes, and the rest covered the blonde hair on his head, leaving the rest to spill out the back, nearly touching the ground. He plugged the jack into the system, laying down on his bed. He shuffled hastily, making sure he was comfortable. This experience would not get ruined for him.

1:00.

"... Link Start!"

It was all in one moment that the colors flashed to life after he closed his eyes, the system check running smoothly and logging in. It was like technological magic, typing in his username "Zero" with his mind...

\---

On the other side of the country, another user was doing the same thing.

He could hear the thumps of his siblings and smiled warmly at their argument, who would be next to try the NervGear.

He nestled into the soft blankets of his bed and-

"Link, start!"

He faced a data entry screen. He thought for a moment and decided on his nickname, X.

Then a customizable character creation screen. Lingering far too long on the male/female selection option, he then picked whatever was closest to his actual appearance, flicking through the options with his mind. Although, the face he chose was a little more mature and well-defined as they were in real life, child-like round cheeks that haven't set out yet.

And he also changed his hair color to blue. He thought it would have been cool.

Soon, the blonde player appeared in the game, his hair chopped short, and his eye's a burning red color. He thought it made him more intimidating. Looking up with a smile on his face, he saw the sky. The virtual sky of Sword Art Online, the first MMO RPG of it's kind.

He felt like he belonged here, in this mid-evil wonderland than he did in his own home.

He was now Zero, one of the many new swordsmen in this new world.

He was amazed at how everything realistic looked and stared down at his hands, turning them over like they weren't real. He quickly stopped, though once he realized people were watching and turned red.

He then tapped his foot and took a step against the cobblestone ground, amazed at how it felt like he was walking on the surface, gasping with a pleasant surprise.

He wondered if this is how the beta-testers felt. Oh, to have been one of them would have been incredible.

Although he does wish he could have picked his clothes, they were a bit plain.

"Hello, Sword Art Online. My new world..." He muttered, chuckling at how childish he sounded. He took a step, a smile on his face. This place is incredible. Now, let's go train up my level.

\---

A blonde with red eyes brushed past X with a grin on his face. He decided, then and there, that was going to follow, with no real other direction, just to see what there was.

Which now that he was doing it, it sounded a bit creepy. Unintentionally, of course, but the blonde looked like he knew what he was doing.

Oblivious, Zero pushed on, exiting the town almost immediately. He bought some new items at the shop with the starting Col, a new, albeit dull blade, and a shiny red chest piece to start. He'd get more stuff after farming for more money. Then, he left the Town of Beginnings, walking right out into the field.

Behind him, X admired the shops and the cool armor- although settled on the standard supplies, as he felt broke compared to the starkly high prices.

He watched from the edge as the blonde entered the field. X, however, spent too many hours playing pokemon to trust any sort of grassy patch and eyed it suspiciously.

He sighed. He was never good at choose-your-own-adventure games like this. He was more fond of objectives and goals to work towards in games. The problem with games with so much to do is that there's no way to start.

And here he was, following a stranger into a field because he's too shy to say hi.

It didn't take the blonde swordsman long to start racking up EXP. Leveling was slow, but he'd get the hang of it with time. His sword raked through boars and wolves, sword skill after sword skill, his heart pounding with adrenaline. Here, he could feel alive. He could feel powerful. This place was nothing like the real world.

The less experienced gamer trailed behind, since he didn't have the natural and raw talent Zero did, and frequently got hurt by the attacking creatures. He looked mournfully as the stranger cut through another boar, and the courage to ask something leaped into his throat, although ultimately escaping him.

However, it was Zero that eventually said something. Having noticed now that someone was trailing him, and now seeing an enemy coming up behind the blue-haired boy while he was distracted watching him, he turned on his heels, readying a sword skill, even if it looked like he was about to attack X.

X squeaked, flushing red, and leaped to his side as the stranger cut through the boar that was about to charge through them, and he fell into the grass, heart thumping and face red.

Huffing, he sheathed his sword as the boar shattered into data, turning to the brunette. "Are you some kind of idiot? You have a sword. Stop gawking and defend yourself." He scolded, hand on his hip.

"...I guess..." The shorter swordsman said, standing shakily and dusting himself off and bowed deeply to him. "Gomenesai!"

"Yeah yeah, It's fine. Just pay more attention. Out here may be a starting area, but you can still die." The blonde waved him off, sighing. "Now then, what's your name? You've been following me this whole time, haven't you?"

He jolted up, face turning bright red. "I-I was well, hoping you didn't notice. I didn't know where to go, and you, erm, caught my eye." he shifted uncomfortably, tapping his toe on the ground, "Eto... I suppose my username is X."

"Ah. Neat user. I'm Zero. At least, that's my user." He chuckles. "It's fine for noobs to games like these to trail players that look like they know what they're doing."

"Isn't everyone here a noob? Well, except for the beta testers..."

"Yeah. But I play a lot of MMOs. I have a general gist on how things work."

"I've never really played one. I'm more of a casual player. I usually find games like this overwhelming, but I wanted to give it a shot."

"MMOs are pretty overwhelming at first. But trust me, these things are addictive. And fun. Hey, you want to party up and train? I don't usually play in a team, but since you're a total noob, I'll help you out."

"R-really? After I stalked you- you want to help me?"

"Sure. EXP gets shared between players in a party. It'll help you start. And I don't care about the stalking thing. I'm just awesome."

"How do you know you're in a party? Does it just happen?"

"Oh, here, I'll send you a request. You gotta accept it, that's all." He opens his menu, tapping a few buttons. Then a popup appears in front of X.

Zero sent you a Party Request  
>Accept  
>Decline

X presses >Accept, and an achievement popup appears for a brief moment, and he gains one, single level.

"You're a cool guy! I can't think you enough for that, really. "

"No problem! You stick with me, and we'll get stronger than the rest of those loser players!" He smiles, giving him a thumbs up.

"You think so? I doubt I'll get as strong as you. You were amazing! You looked so natural..."

"I know. I'm just so incredibly epic~" Zero says, posing dramatically.

"Why'd you say it like that? I suppose you are a little bit. You are kakkoi..."

"Hm? Well..." He grins cockily. "I am, Aren't I?"

"by the way, how many people can you have in a party?"

"Um... I think up to six. Any more and it becomes a guild."

"I'm starting to get excited. What kind of people will we meet and see?"

"Well, over a million copies of the game got sold, so..."

"Lots then! All sorts of people! I wonder if we'll add more to our little party and what we'll see and end up doing..."

"I guess. But I usually play solo. I'll probably only play in a party for a little while, but we can stay friends."

"O-Oh. I understand! I'm sorry to be presumptuous- got carried away..." he rubs the back of his head. "But it still stands, there will be lots of people to see and things to do even when we aren't a party any longer."

"Of course! It's not that bad, I swear! Now, let's get training! I'll teach you how to use Sword Skills!"

"Alright! Please teach me sensei Zero!"

"Sensei?" His eyes widen, but he quickly grins. "That's right! I'm your terrific Sensei, Zero! Training is going to be great!"

"I am honored to be your student!"

\---

"Zero-san, gomene, but I have to be going. It's almost 5:30. I promised to let my siblings try it out, and I ended up having so much fun with you, I played for four hours..."

"Four hours? Has it already been that long? Damn it. My dad's going to be pissed that I missed dinner..." Zero sighs.

"I know! I was shocked myself. It's been fun, though. I hope we're able to meet again." he smiled sweetly. The sun in the virtual world had begun to set, and the sky was pretty yellows and oranges.

"Well... I guess I should eat something. I'll see you some other time. Message me some time, and we can train more." He says, looking out over the horizon.

"Of course!"

He opened the menu, and his fingers lingered over his options. He sighed, seized upon the logout button, but then-

ERROR.

-it disappeared.

For a long moment, he stared like that. Completely bewildered.

"Hm?" He turns to X. "What was that?"

"...It won't- The logout button is gone..."

He pressed where it would have been again.

"There was an error message, and now it's gone."

"What?" He swipes his menu up, gasping as he saw the button missing. "But- that's the only way to log out! How could that be bugged out?"

"What do we do? There has to be some sort of failsafe- I'm sure there's another way to get out!"

"There isn't... The NervGear is dangerous to take off improperly since it uses Microwaves."

"..." he swallowed. "I'm sure they'll fix it soon. I mean, we can't stay in here forever..."

"Of course! This game has tons of players. I'm sure the Game Master has already been alerted!" He says. His attitude has returned, at least.

"Exactly!" Suddenly, the bells in the tower of the Town of Beginnings rang loudly, the sound reaching them all the way out in the field, diverting their attention. "Oh, you hear that? I think there's going to be an announcement! The game master is for sure to say something about it!"

"The bells, huh...? E-eh? A forced teleport incoming?" Zero gasped, the warning appearing as a popup message.

"A- what?!"

Before X could make heads or tails of what that meant, he already disappeared from Zero's sight.

"Gh... What's even going on?" Zero says, before dissipating from the fields, reappearing in the middle of the Town of Beginnings.

"Z-Zero-san!" He met up with again, "There are so many people here..." he looked over the crowd, all wondering the same things they were

"This is all the players... Must be an entrance ceremony if everyone got teleported here." He looks up at the sky, squinting.

"But what about the logout button...?"

Zero points upwards. A red flashing ERROR message breaks the blue sky.

"... What is that?" X inquired, feeling panicked.

Zero scoffed. "This isn't an entrance ceremony..."

Suddenly, the error's red hue spread rapidly over the sky. The crowd of players cried out in confusion and fear as the entire sky had inverted from blue to red.

Then, a dark, faceless person with a hoodie revealed himself in the sky.

"Greetings, it is I, the game master, the creator, and only one with control of this world." His voice boomed in the town's central square, and some reeled at the sound. "Thank you all for deciding to play today. I have heard your concerns over the missing log out button, and I'm afraid to say that the feature is intentionally missing."

There were startled cries and whispers, but the figure continued.  
"So you are all unable to leave now. If your family members in the real world try to remove it, your brain will fry from the microwaves emitted by the NerveGear, and the damage will be lethal."

"No way... No way! That can't be legit..." X hushed to himself, the cries of the people around them getting louder.

"This isn't real! You're a goddamn liar!" Zero hisses, pointing accusingly at the game master. "You can't trap us in here!"

The game master was undisturbed. "The NervGear has an internal battery, so trying to disconnect that is meaningless. And the revival system has been removed, so dying to try and escape isn't advised unless you want to die horribly."

"No way... No way, this can't be happening..."

"Why the hell would you do this!? You're lying, and that cannot be real!"

"There is only one way to escape. Clear all 100 floors of Aincrad and the bosses." The game master went on, despite the noise.

"One- 100 floors?! Are you insane?!"

"This is stupid! Come on, X, let's-" He turns to leave town central, but he walks straight into an invisible wall. "OW! What the fuck!?"

"Z-Zero?! Are you alright?!"

"You may be wondering why I am doing this. My only goal was to create this world and intervene when I wanted. Nothing more. Here is a gift for you all."

A hand mirror appears in X's inventory.

"Huh? What is- Why would I need a mirror?" Zero groans, taking it out. He glares at his reflection.

X yelps as he does the same, there's a flash of bright light. Startled, he closed his eyes until the light faded. When he opened them again, to his disappointment, his baby-round cheeks are back, and his blue hair is gone.

Zero drops the mirror as the blue light disappears. In his reflection, he saw himself back in his real-world body, long blonde hair, icy blue eyes.

"O-oh, wow! Your hair is so long!" X gasped as he turned to the blonde again. "I guess these changed us to our real-world appearances. ... There are a lot fewer girls than before..."

"... God fucking damn it. The game was my chance to start with a clean slate, and now-"

"That isn't something to worry about right now! Zero, we're trapped in here, and if we ever die in here, we'll die in real life!"

"... If we're able to die in here, that means there's not much we can do to prevent it."

"...W-what?" He startled by his tone. "What do..."

"The real world isn't a kind place, especially for me. Why do you think I have so much game experience? But in here, if we die, it's just like real life. You're dead when you die."

"... Zero. That doesn't mean you should give up. If you do, then you won't be able to play any other game again. I don't know you're troubled, but you were so kind as to help me. I don't want to lose that."

"... I guess this place is still better than the real world. If you want me around that much- And I am your Sensei after all." Zero smirked, feeling a bit better.

"Of course, I do! I would rather anyone be alive than dead, and you were so nice to help me, Sensei. Not that this matters, but you look better than you did before. I look childish..."

"Better, huh? A ragged, long-haired loser like me looks better than I did before...? I can't keep this tangle I call hair in check...."

"People admire those with blonde hair and blue eyes. You're well, handsome. I wouldn't call you ragged at all!"

He blushes a bit. "I think you look better now. Blue hair is too flashy for your personality. You're a lot cuter too."

"...C-cuter?" he blushed. "I-I've never been called that before... I always thought I looked too young..."

"Well, I'm not asking for your age, but you still look pretty cute. For someone that likes video games, anyway-"

"Okay, you just ruined it. What do we do now?"

"Whoops- Well, people can leave now. Uh, come on, we should formulate a plan somewhere private. We can't stay in the Town of Beginnings." The blonde reasoned, thinking strategically.

"Maybe we should gather supplies. I mean- just in case we need them later on."

"Right. But we have to get to work fast. The resources aren't unlimited in SAO."

"Really?! Oh gosh, then we have to hurry!" the brunette gasped, a little worried about their limited options.

Zero nods. "Hope my hair doesn't get in my way..."

"You can cut it if you need to, right?"

"No. I'm not cutting it." He crosses his arms, glaring daggers.

"You complain about it- yet won't cut it?" he laughs. "You're strange, senpai."

"Well, why should I cut it? It's a love/hate relationship."

"I suppose so. We better get a move on senpai- you heard the game master. The sooner we get started on those levels, the sooner we can get home! But first, we need to prepare. And I can't do it without you, Zero-san."

"Right. We have enough Col for new gear. We're in a party, so we're going to help each other as much as we can!" He holds out a hand. "Ready?"

"Un!" he takes his hand.


End file.
